Captured Technology

Affiliate marketers do not sell products. They work by encouraging prospective customers to buy products sold by other businesses, and are paid for each referral that brings in customers for those companies and businesses. So how does this work when it comes to affiliate marketing and taxes? If you are an affiliate, your taxes are different from those who sell products and services. You need to understand the way your income will be taxed.

Paying Taxes for Sales

When businesses sell products online, most states will charge a tax on sales; however, the taxes the seller pays are owed to the state in which the affiliate works. Because affiliates find the customers and are not the actual sellers, your affiliate business is not responsible for those taxes.

According to Bloomberg, 2015 is the worst tax season in a long time. With the new Obamacare requirements, identity theft, IRS funding issues and taxpayers taking their time, there should be a rush at the end when April 15th comes.

Obamacare didn’t have income verification in place when it rolled out on HealthCare.com, so new enrollees estimated their income and got subsidies. The IRS is now reporting that 50% of enrollees underestimated their incomes, got a bigger subsidy than allowed, and now are having their tax refunds cut by $530. And for the 11% of Americans without health coverage they might be facing a penalty somewhere around $170.

Small business owners are required to complete additional forms next tax season to comply with the ‘Affordable’ Care Act. Businesses with over 50 full-time employees need to track and record employees health expenditures for the year on a monthly basis. On February 8th the IRS released the new form, 1095C, for companies to file in 2016.

TurboTax Deluxe has changed radically for this filing year, says MousePrint, in a warning piece about the popular tax prep computer program. MousePrint says that the usual interview parts of TurboTax which had, in the past, answered questions regarding Schedules C, D and E are not included in the package but need a costly bump-up to "Premier" editions and others. Schedule C refers to self-employment, Schedule D to investments and Schedule E to rentals and income from partnerships.